OTTAWA — The government has finished interviewing prospective candidates to take over the role of Canada’s top soldier as Gen. Tom Lawson prepares to leave his post later this year.
A source close to the process told Global News that with the interviews completed, a panel is now tasked with looking over the results and offering recommendations for the next chief of defence staff.
Typically, the panel has representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, National Defence and the Privy Council Office. There is no legislated term length for chiefs of defence staff, who serve at the pleasure of the prime minister; since the position was first created in 1964, chiefs have served anywhere from one to five years.
Lawson confirmed his intentions to step down Tuesday night, after media reports citing unnamed sources broke the news.
“I have informed the Government that I would like to retire at the end of my three year tenure as Chief of the Defence Staff,” Lawson said in a statement late Tuesday evening.
“Serving Canada while leading the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces has been the greatest honour and privilege in my 40-years of service in uniform. There is much work to be done, and I remain focused on my duties as Chief of Defence. I will do so until a replacement is named.”
Lawson began his tenure in October 2012, taking the reins from Gen. Walter Natynczyk who had filled the role for four years.
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News of the top soldier’s departure comes as the military grapples with a decreased budget and aging equipment, as well as its anti-terror mission in Iraq which is scheduled to end in a month.
A spokesman from Lawson’s office did not return an email asking for comment and details regarding the chief of defence staff’s departure.
The Prime Minister’s Office, meanwhile, declined to either confirm Lawson’s eventual departure or whether a process is underway to replace Lawson.
“Gen. Tom Lawson continues to serve the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces,” spokesman Stephen Lecce wrote in an email Tuesday morning.
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The decision to leave his post after one three-year term speaks to “deep problems” within National Defence, said New Democrat public safety critic Paul Dewar.
“He had to deal with a government that’s cutting services to veterans and not getting money that was approved by Parliament out the door,” he said.
Although Lawson’s immediate predecessor stayed on longer, there is nothing especially surprising about Lawson moving on, said David Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.
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“There’s been a pretty broad range within one- to five-year terms,” he said. Still, there’s no denying Lawson walked into an office with some considerable issues, Perry added.
“He came in just as the government was shifting from a long period of budget growth to a period of fiscal austerity, and there’s been the issues with procurement that have been well-documented,” he said.
Then of course there is the anti-terror mission, though there is no word yet from the government as to whether the mission will wrap at the end of the month, as scheduled, or be extended.
While missions certainly are a part of the responsibilities for a chief of defence staff, they are not necessarily the most pressing, Perry said; leading the military side on procurement and directing organizational change are likely top priorities now.
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